American voters disapprove 55 - 41 percent of the job President Barack Obama is doing, an all-
time low, and say 77 - 20 percent that the economy is in a recession, according to a Quinnipiac
University poll released today. Voters say 44 - 11 percent that the economy is getting worse, not
better, while only 29 percent say the economy will improve if the president is re-elected.

Voters also disapprove 48 - 34 percent of the way Obama is handling the Israeli-
Palestinian dispute. The president should be a strong supporter of Israel, voters say 63 - 20
percent, but they split 39 - 40 percent on whether Obama is a strong supporter, the independent
Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University survey finds.

The Israelis and the Palestinians are equally to blame for the failure to achieve Middle
East peace, 64 percent of American voters say, while 22 percent blame the Palestinians and 6
percent blame the Israelis.

"The trend isn't good for President Barack Obama. His disapproval has gone up 9 points
since the summer, from 46 percent in July to 52 percent in September to 55 percent today," said
Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"Especially troubling for the president is that voters say 49 - 39 percent that Republican
presidential contender Mitt Romney would do a better job on the economy. GOP contender
Rick Perry would do only slightly better, voters say, and Republicans in Congress would not be
much better.

"The president is stuck at a politically unhealthy level for someone who wants to be re-
elected. His standing with the American people is obviously closely related to their views of the
economy."

Voters continue, however, to blame former President George W. Bush more than Obama
for the economy, 51 - 32 percent, statistically unchanged from 53 - 32 percent in September.

"The political challenge for the president will be whether he can make voters believe his
eventual GOP opponent is a carbon copy of the former president," said Brown. "The fact that
voters are unsure whether the economy will improve if he is re-elected is not a good sign for
Obama."

American sympathies on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remain strongly with the Jewish
state, at 51 - 15 percent. Voters support the creation of a Palestinian state 44 - 35 percent,
compared to 45 - 30 percent in June.

"Americans remain in Israel's corner in the dispute with the Palestinians, but they think
both sides have contributed to the problem," said Brown.

53 - 45 percent in favor of closing local branches, including their own local branch;

57 - 38 percent opposed to providing additional federal funding;

60 - 38 percent support raising stamp prices.

Voters say 60 - 32 percent that it is unfair to call Social Security a "Ponzi scheme," and
by 50 - 32 percent they have a favorable opinion of the retirement system.

Social Security should continue to be run by the federal government, not the states, voters
say 63 - 26 percent. Voters support 56 - 35 percent raising the income cap for Social Security
taxes from its current $106,800 level.

From September 27 - October 3, Quinnipiac University surveyed 2,118 registered voters
with a margin of error of +/- 2.1 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell
phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia
and the nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or
follow us on Twitter.

13. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President?

46. Under the current system employers and employees pay Social Security taxes on workers' incomes up to the first $106,800 they earn. Do you support or oppose raising this $106,800 income cap to help bring more money into the Social Security system?

47. Social Security benefits for today's retirees come from taxes paid by today's workers. When today's workers retire, their benefits will be paid by people working at the time. Some have said this system is a "Ponzi scheme." Do you think that it is fair or unfair to describe the Social Security system as a Ponzi scheme?